Pittsburgh Steelers: Can Mason Rudolph become a franchise quarterback?

With Ben Roethlisberger out, the Pittsburgh Steelers will now turn to Mason Rudolph to lead the way. Does he have what it takes to become their franchise signal-caller?

After falling to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers now sit at 0-2 on the season. Even worse, starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger injured his throwing elbow against the Seahawks and will now miss the entire season. Obviously, this has not been a great start to the year for the Steelers.

After Roethlisberger went down on Sunday, Pittsburgh turned to second-year quarterback Mason Rudolph to take the reigns. Rudolph looked solid against Seattle, completing 12-of-19 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns. He did throw one interception.

We never want to put too much stock into these situations where a backup quarterback comes in off of the bench, but considering the circumstances, Rudolph looked pretty solid. If nothing else, he did look like he belonged.

With Roethlisberger out for the rest of the year, we are going to get a long look at Rudolph and will likely be able to determine whether he actually belongs or not. Obviously, the Steelers would rather have Roethlisberger under center for the rest of the season, but it will be interesting to see what Rudolph can do for them on the field.

Rudolph was a third-round selection by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2018 NFL Draft. Last season, Rudolph was the team’s third-string quarterback and did not see any playing time. However, after multiple impressive preseason performances, the Steelers went ahead with Rudolph as their primary backup this season.

Rudolph entered the NFL after an impressive college career at Oklahoma State. He was a three-year starter in college, putting up great numbers in the Cowboys’ high-powered passing attack. He was particularly impressive in his senior season at Oklahoma State, completing 65 percent of his passes for 4,553 yards, 35 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

He was named second-team All-American in 2017 and won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given to the most outstanding senior quarterback in college football. Simply put, Rudolph was an absolute star in college.

However, despite the great numbers in college, Rudolph was never looked at as a big-time NFL Draft prospect. At Oklahoma State, he played in a wide-open offensive attack that allowed him to consistently make easy reads. He showed good arm talent and accuracy to all fields, but he was never asked to make tough decisions. Based on his college tape, we simply do not know if Rudolph can handle the mental side of being an NFL quarterback.

Now, after watching him a bit in the preseason and on Sunday, there is a lot to like. Rudolph is a quick and decisive passer who can get the ball to his playmakers anywhere on the field. However, there still are concerns about his ability to actually read through the progression and make plays.

I have no doubt that the Pittsburgh Steelers can scheme receivers open for Rudolph and he will be able to get them the ball. However, when defenses take away his first read, will he be able to adjust and the ball to another receiver? On a big third-down late in the game, NFL defenses will take away what you like to do the most. If Rudolph is going to be successful, he simply must be able to make these reads and find the open receiver.

Can he do it? Only time will tell. I imagine that we will know soon.